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Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 49 No. 1 1998

Going public and the ownership structure of the firm

Antonio S. Mello1,2; John E. Parsons3

1 University of Wisconsin–Madison · 2 Centre for Economic Policy Research · 3 Charles River Associates

Abstract

Going public is a complex process with distinct markets for dispersed shares and controlling blocks. It is important to design the sale of new shares with the final ownership structure in mind. An optimal strategy for going public starts with the IPO, which is particularly suited for the sale of dispersed holdings to small and passive investors. The marketing of potentially controlling blocks to active investors should occur subsequently. We develop a framework for evaluating alternative methods of sale and show that discriminating in favor of active investors can raise the market value of the firm for all shareholders.

DOI
10.1016/s0304-405x(98)00018-x
Volume
49
Issue
1
Pages
79-109
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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